Water contamination in fuel is a concern as it affects the performance and operation of engines. Water contamination can cause various problems including fuel filter plugging, fuel starvation, damage of engine components through cavitation and corrosion, and promotion of microbiological growth, for example.
Various devices have been employed to reduce water contamination in fuel. By way of example, coalescing and separating devices have been employed to first cause the emulsified water to coalesce into larger droplets and then remove the enlarged droplets from the fuel stream. A removed or drained hydrocarbon-in-water dispersion or emulsion stream is an output from this water from fuel separator system.
Recent efforts have been focused on reducing air pollution caused by the combustion of hydrocarbon fluids. Diesel fuels have been refined with reduced amounts of sulphur to meet diesel engine emission control regulations. However, these low-sulphur diesel fuels have necessitated the use of other additives. By way of example, surfactants have been added to low-sulphur diesel fuels to maintain sufficient lubricity of the diesel fuel for the engine. Surfactants have also the effect of stabilizing hydrocarbon-in-water emulsions or dispersions as they lower the interfacial tension between water and hydrocarbons.